National Coming Out Day celebration to be held on October 11

National Coming Out Day is Tuesday, October 11, and the UH Mānoa campus will celebrate it with “Up and Out,” the theme of the Sixth Annual Amazing Ally T-shirt Day and LGBT Community Resource Fair at the Campus Center from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hawai‘i Lieutenant Governor Brian Schatz is scheduled to attend at noon, and will read a proclamation from the Governor’s Office.

There will be free T-shirts from the LGBT Student Services Office, while supplies last.

National Coming Out Day is a nationally observed civil awareness day for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender issues. It is observed by members of the LGBT communities, and is a day that people of all sexual orientations and gender expressions are encouraged to live openly and powerfully.

UH Mānoa strives to foster a community that is free from harassment, bullying and discrimination.

“Up and Out” is especially timely, given the state’s anti-bullying campaign announced earlier in the week, and President Obama’s recent signing of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a previous policy that had banned gay men and women from serving openly in the military.